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My name is Corin Keim, and I’m a senior Biology major on the Plant Science track. My research focuses on nocturnal and crepuscular Lepidoptera (primarily moth) species as pollinators in urban, agricultural, and natural systems. Moths are poorly understood and much of the existing literature focuses on their role as herbivores or as highly specialized pollinators, but there are countless generalist pollinating moths who go completely unnoticed and uncredited. Understanding just how involved moths are in pollination across systems will allow us to integrate their needs into conservation decisions in a time when we face global losses in the biodiversity of flying insects. I hope that through my research, we can gain a better understanding of these fascinating insects and how their lives intersect with the world around them, from our urban gardens, our agricultural fields, and conservation areas. |
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My name is Helen Tarrau, and I am originally from Costa Rica. Last summer I was part of Harvard University’s Summer Research Program in Ecology, where I researched woody seedling survival. Last spring, I graduated with my associate of arts in Environmental Science from The Honors College at Miami Dade College. I will be starting at the University of Florida majoring in Entomology next semester. Summer of 2024, I am participating in UCF’s Conservation, Restoration and Communication REU, where I am researching what influences citizen science observations of American bumblebees in Florida. I am very interested in the ecology behind plant-pollinator interactions and this is something I plan to study in the future. |